CW: Homophobia
"So, what do you think of the story?" her brother closed the book with a thud and placed it on his lap.
"Brother, I wanna be a fairy. I wanna be like Maria Makiling who's pretty and kindhearted and have long hair." Amalia imagined the said fairy. She imagined her on a cliff with her fair flowing, her movements were graceful, and her face ravishing.
"Oh, but you're already very beautiful, Amalia."
"But my hair isn't long," she pouted and crossed her arms.
A chuckle bounced out of his brother's throat, "Just be patient. It will get longer if you don't cut it. You have a beautiful face and a kind heart. Except for the hair, you're already close to Maria Makiling."
"No, still not. I'm younger, and we have different names."
"Silly, of course, you have different names," he laughed, "Then, shall we call you Maria Makiling too?"
She tilted her head, "I wanna be my own version of a fairy."
"Hmm," he rubbed his chin, "Ah, how about we call you Malia instead? It's still your name, but it's closer to Maria."
She nodded excitedly. "I like it!"
He grinned and reached for her cheeks to pinch them. "Then, you shall be my Malia starting tonight."
Amalia beamed back. She stared at his brother. She dragged her eyes from his curly black hair to his thick lashes, almond-shaped eyes, and plump lips. "Brother?"
He hummed in response.
"I think you'll be lovely too if you have long hair. Maybe even prettier than Makiling."
Franco tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You think so?"
"Yes. I'm jealous. You're a boy but you're prettier than most girls." She leaned in as his brother started to stroke her hair.
"Then that just means you're prettier than most girls, I included," Franco bent down and kissed her forehead, "Now, get to sleep. You need to get up early. We'll be celebrating your seventh birthday tomorrow. Aren't you excited?"
The little girl frowned.
"What's wrong?"
Amalia set her eyes down, her fingers fiddling with the blanket, "Father and mother won't be around again, will they? I heard them talking about a business trip tomorrow."
Franco cupped her face and turned it in his direction. "But I'll be here. Won't I be enough for now? I'm sure father and mother will bring you gifts when they return."
A grin slowly made its way to her face, "Well, you alone are enough anyway. It's better when it's just the two of us. Mother and father always argue, they'll just ruin my party."
Franco's shoulder slumped down. "Amalia, it's not like that."
"You don't have to make excuses for them, brother. I'll sleep now." She yawned, stretched, and reach for his cheek to plant a kiss. "Good night."
YOU ARE READING
The house at the Crossroads (BxB)
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